1) Satan is real and seeks to devour believers like a roaring lion. He uses deception, temptation, and false doctrine to lead people into sin and away from God. 2) Believers are in a spiritual battle against Satan and his demons. They must depend on God and His strength, know Satan's schemes, and armor themselves with God's protection. 3) While Satan is powerful, Jesus has already won the ultimate victory over sin and death through His sacrifice. Believers share in Christ's triumph and cannot be separated from His love. Their salvation is found only through faith in Him.

1. Spiritual Warfare
Part II: The Nature of the Enemy

2. 1 Peter 5:8 Be sober and alert.
Your enemy the devil, like a
roaring lion, is on the prowl
looking for someone to devour.

3. The world is not a playground. It is
a battleground.
• Ephesians 6:10-13 (NET)10
Finally, be
strengthened in the Lord and in the strength of
his power. 11
Clothe yourselves with the full armor
of God so that you may be able to stand against
the schemes of the devil. 12
For our struggle is not
against flesh and blood, but against the rulers,
against the powers, against the world rulers of
this darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil
in the heavens. 13
For this reason, take up the full
armor of God so that you may be able to stand
your ground on the evil day, and having done
everything, to stand.

4. Acknowledge the reality of Satan.
• The name Satan (the Adversary) is use 11
times in the OT and 36 times in the NT.
• The name Devil is used 43 times in the
NT.

5. Satan is real.
• Other names for Satan:
– Abaddon and Apollyon (the destroyer) Rev.
9:11
– “the accuser of our brethren” Rev. 12:10
– “the adversary” I Pet 5:8
– Beelzebub (dung god) Mat. 12:24
– Belial (worthlessness) II Cor. 6:15
– “the deceiver of the whole world” Rev. 12:9
– “The great dragon” Rev. 12:9

6. Satan is real.
• Other names for Satan:
– “an enemy” Mat. 13:28, 29
– “the evil one” Mat. 13:19, 38
– “the god of this world” II Cor. 4:4
– “a liar” John 8:44
– “the father of lies” John 8:44
– “a murderer” John 8:44
– “the prince of the power of the air” Eph. 2:2

7. Satan is real.
• Other names for Satan:
– “the ruler of this world” John 12:31; 14:30;
16:11
– “the ancient serpent” Rev. 12:9
– “the tempter” Mat. 4:3; I Thess. 3:5

8. Satan’s Position
• He holds a position of power and dignity in the
Spiritual World and is numbered among “the
sons of God”
Job 1:6-7 (NET)
6
Now the day came when the sons of God came
to present themselves before the Lord – and
Satan also arrived among them. 7
The Lord said
to Satan, “Where have you come from?” And
Satan answered the Lord, “From roving about on
the earth, and from walking back and forth
across it.”

9. Satan’s Position
• He is so exalted that Michael the
archangel found him a formidable foe.
Jude 9
9
But even when Michael the archangel
was arguing with the devil and debating
with him concerning Moses’ body, he did
not dare to bring a slanderous judgment,
but said, “May the Lord rebuke you!”

10. Satan’s Position
• He is ruler over a powerful kingdom of evil.
Matthew 12:26
26
So if Satan casts out Satan, he is divided
against himself. How then will his kingdom
stand?

11. Satan’s Position
• His kingdom consists of a well structured organization of
spirit-beings (his angels) whom he directs to do his
bidding.
Matthew 25:41“Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart
from me, you accursed, into the eternal fire that has
been prepared for the devil and his angels!
Revelation 12:7 Then war broke out in heaven: Michael
and his angels fought against the dragon, and the
dragon and his angels fought back.
Ephesians 6:12 For our struggle is not against flesh and
blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against
the world rulers of this darkness, against the spiritual
forces of evil in the heavens.

12. We are not to be ignorant of his
methods/schemes.
2 Corinthians 2:11 …so that we may not be
exploited by Satan (for we are not ignorant
of his schemes).
Ephesians 6:11 Clothe yourselves with the
full armor of God so that you may be able
to stand against the schemes of the devil.

13. Satan’s methods/schemes
• As “the tempter” he seeks to lead us to fall into
sin.
Matthew 4:3 The tempter came and said to him, “If
you are the Son of God, command these stones
to become bread.”
1 Thessalonians 3:5 So when I could bear it no
longer, I sent to find out about your faith, for fear
that the tempter somehow tempted you and our
toil had proven useless.

14. Satan’s methods/schemes
• As “the tempter” he seeks to lead us to fall
into sin.
– He focuses on our weaknesses and
limitations to entice us.
1 Corinthians 7:5 Do not deprive each other,
except by mutual agreement for a specified
time, so that you may devote yourselves to
prayer. Then resume your relationship, so that
Satan may not tempt you because of your
lack of self-control.

15. Satan’s methods/schemes
• As “the tempter” he seeks to lead us to fall into
sin.
– He focuses on our weaknesses and limitations to
entice us.
– He employs the allurements of the world to entice us.
1 John 2:15-17 15
Do not love the world or the things in
the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the
Father is not in him, 16
because all that is in the world
(the desire of the flesh and the desire of the eyes and
the arrogance produced by material possessions) is
not from the Father, but is from the world. 17
And the
world is passing away with all its desires, but the
person who does the will of God remains forever.

16. Satan’s methods/schemes
• He is a master of deception.
– In the garden of Eden
– In his conversation with Christ
– Revelation 12:9 So that huge dragon – the
ancient serpent, the one called the devil and
Satan, who deceives the whole world – was
thrown down to the earth, and his angels
along with him.

17. Satan’s methods/schemes
• He is a counterfeiter.
– Planting false believers among believers.
Matthew 13:25-26 But while everyone was sleeping, an
enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat and
went away. 26
When the plants sprouted and bore
grain, then the weeds also appeared.
Matthew 13:38-39 The field is the world and the good
seed are the people of the kingdom. The weeds are
the people of the evil one, 39
and the enemy who sows
them is the devil. The harvest is the end of the age,
and the reapers are angels.

18. Satan’s methods/schemes
• He is a counterfeiter.
– Planting false believers among believers.
– Disguising himself as an angel of light and presenting
his messengers of falsehood as messengers of truth.
2 Corinthians 11:13-15 (NET)
13
For such people are false apostles, deceitful
workers, disguising themselves as apostles of Christ.
14
And no wonder, for even Satan disguises himself as
an angel of light. 15
Therefore it is not surprising his
servants also disguise themselves as servants of
righteousness, whose end will correspond to their
actions.

19. Satan’s methods/schemes
• He blinds the minds of men to the light of the gospel.
2 Corinthians 4:3-4 3
But even if our gospel is veiled, it is
veiled only to those who are perishing, 4
among whom the
god of this age has blinded the minds of those who do
not believe so they would not see the light of the glorious
gospel of Christ, who is the image of God.
2 Thessalonians 2:8-10 8
and then the lawless one will be
revealed, whom the Lord will destroy by the breath of his
mouth and wipe out by the manifestation of his arrival. 9
The arrival of the lawless one will be by Satan’s working
with all kinds of miracles and signs and false wonders, 10
and with every kind of evil deception directed against
those who are perishing, because they found no place in
their hearts for the truth so as to be saved.

20. Satan’s methods/schemes
• He induces people to give into “deceitful
spirits and doctrines of demons”.
1 Timothy 4:1-2 (NET)
1
Now the Spirit explicitly says that in the
later times some will desert the faith and
occupy themselves with deceiving spirits
and demonic teachings, 2
influenced by the
hypocrisy of liars whose consciences are
seared.

21. Satan’s methods/schemes
• He hates God’s word and will snatch even
what they receive from the hearts of the
unsaved.
Matthew 13:19 (NET)
19
When anyone hears the word about the
kingdom and does not understand it, the
evil one comes and snatches what was
sown in his heart; this is the seed sown
along the path.

22. Satan’s methods/schemes
• He hinders God’s workers from providing to the
welfare of the saints.
1 Thessalonians 2:17-18 (NET)
17
But when we were separated from you,
brothers and sisters, for a short time (in
presence, not in affection) we became all the
more fervent in our great desire to see you in
person. 18
For we wanted to come to you (I, Paul,
in fact tried again and again) but Satan thwarted
us.

23. What is our role?

24. First line of defense: Be humble.
Stay close to God.
• James 4:6-8 6
…. Therefore it says, “God
opposes the proud, but he gives grace
to the humble.” 7
So submit to God. But
resist the devil and he will flee from you. 8
Draw near to God and he will draw near to
you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners,
and make your hearts pure, you double-
minded.

25. Second line of defense: Depend on
Christ as our advocate. He
intercedes for us.
• Luke 22:31-32 31
“Simon, Simon, pay
attention! Satan has demanded to have
you all, to sift you like wheat, 32
but I have
prayed for you, Simon, that your faith may
not fail. When you have turned back,
strengthen your brothers.”

26. Third line of defense: Don’t be
ignorant of the devil’s Schemes
• Acknowledge Satan exists and that there
is a spiritual war.
• Don’t become paranoid by the war. Don’t
look for demons behind every obstacle,
sickness, tree, etc.
• Understand how the methods/schemes of
Satan and be on guard.

27. Know that Christ has already won
the war at the cross.
• The war was won at the cross.
• Death has been defeated.
• Sin no longer has reign over us.
• Satan’s accusations are empty because
our sins are covered by the righteousness
of Christ.
• Constantly remind yourself that you are a
child of God. You share in the victory and
the inheritance.

28. Know that Christ has already won
the war at the cross.
Romans 8:33-39 (NET)
33
Who will bring any charge against God’s elect? It is God
who justifies. 34
Who is the one who will condemn? Christ is
the one who died (and more than that, he was raised), who
is at the right hand of God, and who also is interceding for
us. 35
Who will separate us from the love of Christ? Will
trouble, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or
nakedness, or danger, or sword? 36
As it is written, “For
your sake we encounter death all day long; we were
considered as sheep to be slaughtered.” 37
No, in all
these things we have complete victory through him who
loved us! 38
For I am convinced that neither death, nor life,
nor angels, nor heavenly rulers, nor things that are present,
nor things to come, nor powers, 39
nor height, nor depth, nor
anything else in creation will be able to separate us from
the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.

29. Be prepared for Battle
• Don’t enter the battles unprepared.
• Put on the armor of God.

30. Salvation is in Christ alone
• Hebrews 2:14-18 (NET)
14
Therefore, since the children share in flesh and blood,
he (Jesus) likewise shared in their humanity, so that
through death he could destroy the one who holds the
power of death (that is, the devil), 15
and set free those
who were held in slavery all their lives by their fear of
death. 16
For surely his concern is not for angels, but he is
concerned for Abraham’s descendants. 17
Therefore he
had to be made like his brothers and sisters in every
respect, so that he could become a merciful and faithful
high priest in things relating to God, to make atonement
for the sins of the people. 18
For since he himself suffered
when he was tempted, he is able to help those who are
tempted.